Second Half Surge Powers Coker Past Barton

HARTSVILLE, S.C. - The Coker University men's lacrosse team used a second half surge to power past Barton on Tuesday (Feb. 18) by a score of 19-12.

Barton scored the first three goals through the first four minutes, before Coker would respond with goals 31 seconds apart to get back within 3-2. Henry Haskett scored from Joe Venazio to get the Cobras on the board, before Kaden Ross scored unassisted to make it a 3-2 game. Barton closed the quarter on a four-goal run to take a 7-2 lead to the second quarter.

Matt Murphy scored the first goal a minute and a half into the second quarter, before Barton would counter with a goal just before the midway point of the quarter. Ethan Irizarry would get on the scoresheet off an assist from Murphy with under seven minutes to play in the period, before Barton increased its lead to 9-4 with under three minutes to play. Nicholas Maddox would score from Venazio with 1:45 to play in the quarter, before Jason McNeany collected his own faceoff and scored unassisted less than 10 seconds later for the final goal of the half. Barton took a 9-6 lead to the half.

Venazio scored from Ross less than a minute into the third quarter, before Barton would counter with a goal less than two minutes into the period. That would be the only goal for the Bulldogs in the period, as the Coker defense would clamp down and help create offense in the quarter. A six-goal run spanned the final 12 and a half minutes of the third, starting with Venazio scoring unassisted. Haskett (10:02) and Murphy (7:03) would follow with unassisted goals, before Ross would score from Irizarry with two minutes to play in the frame. Maddox would score unassisted with a minute and a half to play in the third quarter, before setting up Venazio to beat the horn and torch the twine with three seconds left. Coker headed to the final regulation frame ahead 13-10.

Coker's run continued into the fourth quarter, as the Cobras began to pull away in the contest. Unassisted goals from Venazio (14:08), Richie Timothee (12:53), Venazio again (11:19) and Maddox (8:45) put the Cobras ahead 17-10, before Barton scored for the first time in the frame with six and a half minutes left. Timothee would find the back of the net again with six minutes to play, before Irizarry would score the final Coker goal of the game with three and a half minutes to play. Barton would net one more goal in the game, before Coker would run out the clock and take the victory.

Venazio score a team-high five goals in the game, while Maddox also netted a hat trick. Irizarry, Murphy, Timothee, Ross and Haskett each scored twice, while McNeany also added one goal. Venazio also dished out a team-high two assists for the Cobras, while Irizarry, Murphy, Ross and Maddox each had one assist in the game. Coker out-worked Barton for ground balls 43-37, led by 11 from McNeany. Venazio scooped up seven ground balls in the game, while Irizarry and Ethan Ramsey also had six ground balls. Nine other Cobras collected at least one ground ball in the contest. Venazio also caused a team-high three turnovers in the win, while eight others also forced turnovers on the day. Chris Hagy (4-1) stopped 12 shots between the pipes, while Chris Priolo saved the only shot he saw in 1:41 of relief. McNeany was also 19-30 on faceoffs on the afternoon.

The Cobras (4-1) are back at home on Sunday (Feb. 23) to face Embry-Riddle (Fla.) in non-conference action. Opening face-off is set for 1:00 p.m. from the Coker Athletic Field, with video and live stats available at www.cokercobras.com.

McDonald's Player of the Game - Joe Venazio